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View Full Version : Suggestions for a New Dock and Boat Lift



North Woods Mobius
03-29-2014, 10:45 AM
Gents,

I'm hoping to tap into your collective wisdom on suggestions for a new dock and boat lift at our new place in Wisconsin. We just bought our place last September on a ~400 acre sandy bottom lake, and the old cedar dock that came with the place has seen its better days. And the old boat lift won't be big enough to handle our 2014 Mobius LSV.

So I'm in the market for some new stuff ('cause buying the home, the new boat, and a new towing rig just wasn't enough...!). I'm looking at a sectional Pier Pleasure dock and a 5,000 lbs vertical boat lift. But given the water depth I need for my LSV, I'm looking at almost 120 feet of dock. So I've also been told to look at Porta-Dock as a less expensive option. Any thoughts on differences between these 2 options?

Also - the wife likes the thought of an electric drive for the boat lift, but I'm not convinced (that's what my 3 boys are for!)

Any suggestions from you guys on which way to go on this?

cornrickey
03-29-2014, 11:16 AM
Wow 120 feet? There must not be much room for boating in it after everyone has one of those! I'd figure out what you need for use and boat lift then make the rest a walk way out to it. Power lifts see the way to go. Water powered are cheaper but slower and I believe more maintenance. Hydraulic oil are self contained and just need power.

jmvotto
03-29-2014, 04:53 PM
Power lift, you can use a solar charged 12v battery to power it.

Boatdrinks797
03-29-2014, 05:54 PM
I'm glad I'm not your call list for install and removal each year!

I see lots and lots of wheel kits in your future as well! I never had good luck with my solar powered winch, but it was old and I ditched it for a 110v winch since I got power next to the shore.

North Woods Mobius
04-04-2014, 11:12 AM
Thanks guys. Looking at everyone's advice, I pulled the trigger yesterday on a new Pier Pleasure sectional dock and electric boat lift (I think it's a Shore Commander direct drive unit). Between what you guys said, what I heard from my buddies, and what I heard from the wife, we were only ever gonna end up with a powered boat lift!

I did question the dock length, because the previous owners only had 72' of dock (but they only had a pontoon boat with minimal draft). We're in a small bay with a shallow beach, so after re-measuring our beach (which they had to estimate by drilling through the ice), I ended up with 104' to accommodate the water depth required for our new LSV. I'm told I need 30" on the shore side of the lift to accommodate our V-Drive, so we worked the overall length backwards from there.

The ice is expected to go out by the first week of May, so we're scheduled to install the dock on May 16 and pick up the new boat on May 17.... So hopefully by 5pm on May 17th we're happily cruising the lake making good use of the new Moomba Coozies that arrived this week!

sandm
04-04-2014, 01:22 PM
need to hook up one weekend to do some surfing..
love to ride a new lsv and swap some seat time with ya in a different brand..

we are looking to get outside of the green bay area this year to ride some different lakes. green river gets old :)

North Woods Mobius
05-12-2014, 10:13 PM
So the ice in Eagle River, WI finally went out last week and we had our new dock and boat hoist installed yesterday. Although the canopy won't get installed until after we put the boat on the hoist as I'm told that an empty hoist + 24' canopy = a perfect way to have your new host get flipped over in an strong wind!

We pick up our new LSV on Saturday morning and will drop it into our lake on Saturday afternoon with enough time to christen our new ride with a coozie-enabled cocktail cruise! Thanks again for the great advice from you guys in this - I actually got brownie points from the wife for going with a powered lift, so thanks for suggestions to go with an electric lift from the get-go

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sandm
05-13-2014, 07:54 AM
how do you walk upright on that dock with the 90deg angle it's at?? :)

if ur coming thru our area and are stopping, give a shout....